Nikola Tesla is my Science Hero. (Also, Edison was a kitten-murdering asshole.)
Yeah, I really hoped that Sheldon was going to be a modern version of him. Heck, Sheldon has <i>less</I> quirks and foibles than the real guy, you simply couldn't make him up. I think at least one writer had some hazy impression in their head, hence the whole pigeon thing going on.
But, again, you had a bloke who was so far ahead of everyone else mentally that he was pilloried as a nutcase and driven to a breakdown. He invented or predicted so much of the modern world, but the language, the scientific theory, wasn't there to describe it at the time, and he spent his professional life being screwed over by cynical bastards. (Edison. Twice.)
(Incidentally, as a 'Sanctuary' fan, my brain tried to shut down when I saw the latest incarnation of 'Dracula'. All I could think of was that Nikola would go batshit incoherent with rage.)
I BLOODY HATE EDISON! The fact that the fucker potentially had Augustin le Prince murdered over a patent war doesn't really help his case either.
Augustin vanished on a train of all things...
...cinema chap, yeah? And his son's death was a bit fishy, too.
Edison was the kind of nasty scumbag who knows how to play the system to his own advantage. His entire career was built on screwing other people out of, or over, their work.
I think Vintage Sheldon became too hard to write for. They'd created someone vastly smarter than themselves so they had to dumb him down to their writing level.
For a show ostensibly based around a group of smart people, there's a very strong anti-intellectual streak to it. A deep-seated distrust of clever, because clever is different, and different is wrong, a threat in some way.
An individual who had self-confidence and was comfortable with his uniqueness wouldn't gel with the other characters, would just starkly illustrate their inadequacy as people and their desperation to fit in. He had to be broken.
(02-10-2014, 11:35 PM)FlyingMonkey Wrote: [ -> ]I think Vintage Sheldon became too hard to write for. They'd created someone vastly smarter than themselves so they had to dumb him down to their writing level.
I was thinking this EXACT same thing just last year because I've noticed how simple Sheldon's dialogue had became during season 5 and how it was EXTREMELY rare to find him doing something that dealt with his work even if he was in his lab they STILL wouldn't bother on having him lecture over what it was he was currently dealing with.
The writers don't know jack shit about science they need to hire REAL physicists in order to use their knowledge as reference for certain parts of the script (which I highly doubt they do anymore), all they DO know is gag/slapstick/sexual jokes, having everyone in the gang mock one another and make fools of themselves, as well as one dimensional relationships. Most of the things that the boys engage in deal with comics or sci-Fi shows/films and even that is portrayed with some malice.
The only things Sheldon is interested in now relate little to NOTHING on string theory or theoretical physics, he's become pretty damn dispassionate on his research and from out of nowhere has seemed to have gotten over germs a little TOO quickly but is still having a little bit of issues with touching (which will change VERY soon enough). We see him forgiving Leonard for almost ruining his career, drinking, watching football, spanking, playing the bongos in the middle of the night in a spot that isn't his own, putting trains in his frigging mouth, becoming tired of cosplaying, joining in on couple's game night, playing with trains while wearing a conductor's hat to go go along with it, Fun with Flags that deal with him dressing up in ridiculously embarrassing costumes, and now being an expert on lip locking? What's next? Dancing like an idiot at the nightclubs?
Sheldon says he hates change but just LOOK at everything that's happened ever since he said that. Is he too oblivious to notice any of this?! Yes. And he continues to go along with it.
(02-10-2014, 10:55 PM)SpaceAnJL Wrote: [ -> ]Nikola Tesla is my Science Hero...
Talking of science and science heroes, I was thinking about making a thread in the "A Little Physics" forum for everyone to talk about their relationship with science (by answering questions like: Are you a scientist/are you into science yourself? Are you a science/genius admirer? etc.), to talk about their science heroes and to even share hot news of the science world.
Again, talking of science heroes, while I do get the guys on the show loving super heroes, doesn't it make more sense for scientists like Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj -
especially for a genius like Sheldon - to have
scientists as their heroes? We have heard and seen him admiring Richard Feynman and Stephan Hawking, but I still think there has not been enough referring to scientists as the likely heroes for these guys. For example, I always thought the T-shirts someone like Sheldon wears would have portraits of scientists on them rather than pics of fictional super heroes.
It makes me wonder how they were able to create him in the first place. He was so brilliantly written that I can't imagine the current group of writers having done it. Have the original writers left the show?
I would think that Tesla would be an inspiration for Sheldon - I can totally see him being into something like Wardenclyffe. Or the 'Peace Ray'.
The problem is, the majority of the audience don't know or care who Feynman was, but they can recognise Batman.
(02-10-2014, 11:35 PM)FlyingMonkey Wrote: [ -> ]I think Vintage Sheldon became too hard to write for. They'd created someone vastly smarter than themselves so they had to dumb him down to their writing level.
That is exactly what I think, and that is the danger of creating a genius. How can you create a genius if you aren't one? It's clearer the creators of TBBT are NOT geniuses because they put their creation in a bog-standard sitcom, and after a 3 year lucky streak treated him like an "ordinary guy". If you've got a character like Sheldon you can't foist the typical sitcom tropes onto him, because they won't gel and you'll end up with a weirdo character that doesn't make sense in the universe of the show.
(02-11-2014, 12:00 AM)FlyingMonkey Wrote: [ -> ]It makes me wonder how they were able to create him in the first place. He was so brilliantly written that I can't imagine the current group of writers having done it. Have the original writers left the show?
That's what I wondered, but I think there are only a few writers that have left... I REALLY wish there was a clear explanation for the sudden plummet in quality. I could forgive the show if I found out that most of the creative team had fucked off onto another show, because it obviously wouldn't be the same after that, would it? But I think they've just completely lost their mojo, or changed their game after they saw how popular the show was with ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE.
(02-11-2014, 12:00 AM)SpaceAnJL Wrote: [ -> ]I would think that Tesla would be an inspiration for Sheldon - I can totally see him being into something like Wardenclyffe. Or the 'Peace Ray'.
The problem is, the majority of the audience don't know or care who Feynman was, but they can recognise Batman.
"Recognise" being the operative word. I'm not good on my scientists OR superheroes, but at least I don't pretend that I am. Unfortunately, TBBT has become an artificial "geek chic" beacon, for those hipstery types that have tons of Batman merchandise despite not really giving a shit about the guy at all... I watched the show for Sheldon, Jim Parsons and the intelligent writing. The whole "geek" thing was very heavy-handed to me. Superheroes and Sci-Fi are all well and good, but that's not all "geeks" obsess about. It's an outsider's perception of a "geek".